Residents and rescuers find nourishment after powerful earthquake in China

Medical personnel take a break to eat in disaster-hit Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan province, on April 21. Clogged roads, debris and landslides impeded rescuers as they battled to find survivors of a powerful earthquake in mountainous southwest China that has left at least 188 dead.

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Earthquake survivors queue for free water on April 22, in Lushan of Ya An, Sichuan Province of China.

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Two earthquake survivors eat instant noodles outside the tent in a middle school on April 22, in Baoxing county of Ya An, China.

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Earthquake victims queue up for food supplies in the disaster-hit area in Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan province, April 21.

"We are in the open air here. No place to sleep, nothing to eat. No one is paying any attention to us," said Peng Qiong, 45, a farmer in Chaoyang village on the outskirts of Lushan, near the epicenter.

China has poured resources into Sichuan since Saturday's quake, including 1 billion yuan ($161.9 million) from central coffers for disaster relief and compensation. About 18,000 troops are in the area. Continue reading.

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Two girls hold boxes of food at a temporary settlement in the disaster-hit area in Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan province, on April 21.

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An earthquake survivor sits outside a tent in a middle school on April 22 in Baoxing county of Ya An, China.

A strong 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit a remote, mostly rural and mountainous area of southwestern China's Sichuan province on Saturday, killing scores of people and injuring thousands close to where a big quake killed almost 70,000 people in 2008.